The Love of God

Last Tuesday evening in Bible study I spoke about THE FACT THAT WE ARE CALLED . That is we are called to love one another with fervent love and then I spoke a little about God’s love and I RELATED SOMETHING I HAD READ IN A LITTLE devotional book entitled “ponder the love of God” It touched each heart in that study as I read what the author had said about God’s love. He said , “upon learning that God would rather die than live without you, how do you react?” The next morning early I was speaking with our missionaries in Mindanao, Philippines and related this same story and thought to Gwen and Dale,and they encouraged me to share it further. It’s not a thought that originated in my mind but I will take the liberty to borrow it because it is one of the most powerful things I have ever read. God was in Jesus the Bible says reconciling the world unto himself and in order for Him to do that He had to die; yes Jesus had to die for you and I. And everyone who has ever lived or will live. He would rather die than live without us! Try to imagine such love if you can.
I take the liberty to quote from the prophet Isaiah chapter 40 again reading from verse 12 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, MEASURED HEAVEN WITH A SPAN And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance? 13. Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD or as His counselor has taught Him?” This is the God Who became a man and came to earth to die because He would rather die than live without you and I. That is a mind boggling concept of our God but I believe it is true. Again in Isaiah ch. 45 vs.21, 22 “Tell and bring forth your case; Yes let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I the LORD? And there is no other God beside Me, A just God and a Savior, There is none beside Me. 22. Look to Me and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God
And there is no other” There is no other! This is a truth that should be proclaimed from the rooftops “there is no other God or gods. I don’t need to prove the Bible is true no more than a LION HAS TO PROVE its A LION. Let it loose and it will prove itself. All we need to do is proclaim God’s Word and it will prove itself. So let’s not get hung up in trying to prove Who God is. Oswald Chambers, that great British missionary of the early part of the last century said that the only God that a Christian knows is Jesus. And He came for one purpose: to die for each and every one of us
He said in the Gospel of John ch. 14 vs.1, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.”
Vs.8, 9 “Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”(The answer that Jesus gave to Philip is a Divine revelation and can only be understood through a revelation from God.) Vs.9 Jesus said to him (Philip), “Have I been with you so long and yet you have not known Me Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say show us the Father?”VS. 11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in ME, OR ELSE BELIEVE Me for the sake of the works themselves.” Only God could do the works that Jesus did.
It blesses my soul every time I read these words. With Paul that great apostle of the Christian faith I too can say, “For I know Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day.” God was in Christ and He still is God!
And He would rather die than live without you! What a mind boggling thought!
How can we fathom the depths of His grace?

Who Is the Fourth Man? Since being a teenager, I have taken notes in church of the Pastor’s sermons. I have always enjoyed doing it and it helps me remember both when and who preached certain sermons as well as often most of the points. (As time went on and when little tape recorders became popular, I got so into this taking notes thing, that I often even taped the sermon and if it had so many points I couldn’t keep up, I would go home and transcribe the tape!) Today, I still take notes but don't do the taping thing, although there are times when I wish I could get a tape afterwards. So now, often when I hear something, I am reminded of a sermon I have heard at some earlier time. This leads me to the rest of this submission to our blog on More About His Word.

In 1991, I heard a wonderful sermon in a great church I was attending near Elmira, Ontario, and at the end of the sermon about Daniel, the pastor launched into the following, giving credit to having heard it earlier himself from Oral Roberts. So that is the history of it.

Then this past Sunday night, a great lady at our church sang a most moving song I had not heard before, called “That’s Him” and once again I thought of this listing. So, I went on a search for it and I know you will be blessed by it as much as I was and am. Also, it certainly fits in with our ongoing study of "GRACE", for sure.

Who Is the Fourth Man?

In Genesis, He is the Seed of the Woman
In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He is the High Priest
In Numbers, He is Star out of Judah
In Deuteronomy, He is Prophet like unto Moses
In Joshua, He is the Captain of the Lord’s Host
In Judges, He is the Great Judge and Law Giver
In Ruth, He is our Kinsman Redeemer
In Samuel, He is our Trusted Prophet
In Kings and Chronicles, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords
In Ezra and Nehemiah, He is the Rebuilder of the Broken Down Walls
of Humanity
In Esther, He is our Heavenly Mordecai on the Throne
In Job, He is our Ever Living Redeemer, “For I know that my Redeemer Liveth”

Who Is That Fourth Man?

In Psalms, He’s the Good Shepherd
In Proverbs, He’s the Wisdom of God
In Ecclesiastes, He’s radiated above the sun
In Song of Solomon, He is the Lover and the Bridegroom, the
Altogether Lovely One
In Isaiah, He is the Prince of Peace
In Jeremiah, He is Lord, Our Righteousness
In Lamentations, He’s the Weeping Prophet
In Ezekiel, He is the Prince and the High Priest of God on earth
In Daniel, He’s the Messiah who is cut off but comes the second time
as the stone that fills the earth with His Kingdom
In Hosea, He’s the Faithful Husband
In Joel, He’s Baptizer in the Holy Ghost
In Amos, He’s our Burden Bearer
In Obadiah, He is the Mighty to Save
In Jonah, He is the Risen Prophet, the Missionary
In Micah, He is the Messenger with Beautiful Feet
In Nahum, He is the Avenger of God’s Elect
In Habakkuk, He takes us into the temple where He is Lord
In Zephaniah, He is the Lord in the Midst of Israel
In Haggai, He is Desirer of all Nations
In Zechariah, He’s the Lord of Glory, Our Saviour a Fountain opened up
For uncleanness
In Malachi, He’s the Son of Righteousness Risen with
Healing in His wings


Who is that Fourth Man?

In Matthew, He is the Messiah, the Son of the King of Jews
In Mark, He is the Perfect Servant
In Luke, He is the Son of Man
In John, He is the Son of God
In Acts, He is the Baptizer of the Holy Ghost
In Romans, He’s Our Justifier
In Corinthians, He’s Our Sanctifier
In Galatians, He is Our Redeemer from the Curse of the Law
In Ephesians, He’s the Head of the Church
In Philippians, He’s God who supplies all our needs
In Colossians, He is fullness of the God-head bodily
In Thessalonians, He is the Soon Coming King
In Timothy, He is the One Mediator between God and man
In Titus, He is the Faithful Pastor
In Philemon, He’s Your Friend that sticketh closer than a brother
In Hebrews, He is the Great High Priest exalted above the heavens
In James, He is the Lord whose coming draweth nigh
In Peter, He is the Chief Shepherd who shall appear with a crown of
unfading glory
In John, He is Love
In Jude, He is the Lord coming with Ten Thousand of His saints, and
In Revelation, He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords
He is the Brightness of God’s Glory

He is the express image of God’s purpose
He is the King of Glory
He is the Prince of Peace
He is the Pearl of Great Price
He is the Rock in a weary land
He is the Lilly of the Valley
He is the Honey in the Rock
He is the Bright and morning star
He is Jesus, the Son of the Living God, our Savior, our
Companion, our Lord and our King
Who comes to us in the urgency of our need
And says, “I’ll walk with you,
I’ll be with you in the midst of the fire”.

Hallejujah!! What an obvious time to give praise to our blessed Savior, God's grace to us in His Son.

Submitted by Naida

Soar Like an Eagle or Gobble like a turkey

The other day I met two friends from that small coastal village that I told you about. You may remember the blog entitled “A Floodtide of Grace”. If you haven’t read it you should. I thought it was pretty good. However all bragging aside, I want to get back to my two friends, Lew and Sheila.
In this blog we are on a first name basis…..only. Across the bay from their house is an island; a real picturesque setting it is. And on the island lives an eagle and his nest is at the top of what I presume is the tallest tree on the island and it overlooks the bay and eagles love to fish. Get the picture?
Dinner! And every other meal he wants because he loves fish. Sheila happened to observe this eagle’s habits and how he loves to soar higher and higher and in that same area are flocks and flocks of seagulls. Do seagulls come in flocks? I think so, but you know what I mean. And Sheila also noted that when Monsieur Eagle started circling over his fishing zone that all these seagulls en masse take flight.
Wonder why? Well I found some interesting facts about eagles.
THEY LIKE FISH, THEY CAN SWIM, THEY CAN DIVE AT 100 MILES PER HOUR which in metric terms is 160 kph…like get outta my way! An eagles wingspan is 7 feet and when standing they are 3 feet tall.They can spot a fish from an extremely long distance and be on it in a flash picking it out of the water as it swims near the surface.
(Eagles aren’t divers) They can spot a rabbit in the woods from a mile away. Their cruising speed(when they are soaring is between 20 and 44 miles per hour) and get this….they can fly to altitudes of 10,000 ft.Wow! They can exert pressure in their talons (their feet) of 1,000 pounds per square inch on each foot. Ow! Wouldn’t that hurt?

What do turkeys do? They gobble….gobble,gobble, gobble! They are extremely edible…I’ve never heard of any one eating eagle meat on any kind of a regular basis.
Here are some turkey facts:
Wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) live in woods in parts of North America and are the largest game birds found in this part of the world. They spend their days foraging for food like acorns, seeds, small insects and wild berries. They spend their nights in low branches of trees (yes, wild turkeys can fly!).
The wild turkey we usually see in photos or pictures is not the same as the domestic turkey that we serve at Thanksgiving.
Domestic or tame turkeys weigh twice what a wild turkey does and are raised on farms for profit.
Most domestic turkeys are so heavy they are unable to fly
But they are good to eat! 1 Peter 5:8 says
Be sober, be vigilant; because[a] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

In the book of Isaiah in the 40th. Chapter we read in verses 28-31
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Down on the ground the turkeys gobble picking away at the insects and the acorns , seeds, etc. and these are the wild ones, at least they can fly a short distance, the domestics can’t fly because they are too heavy. By the way n eagle’s weight is said to be between 9 and 14 pounds which surprised me for such a large bird. Goes to show what diet and exercise will do for you. Another interesting fact is that the female eagle is 30 percent larger than males(watch that figure ladies).

So my analogy is just what the Bible lesson teaches me, at least what I see from this passage in Isaiah. While it doesn’t mention the turkeys or the seagulls, we can be like either of these three species, all three have value; but the seagulls represent those who are nominal CHRISTIANS , whom when the Spirit of God is hovering over the waters they disappear quickly. By the way they are quite a smelly bird and they eat fish too as well as garbage and anything they can find. They are not environmentally conscious, they don’t care where they go
(if you catch my drift, be careful you don’t catch theirs). They like crowds (birds of a feather flock together) something like people who would rather be popular than spend time in the presence of God. They are always with the in crowd. Maybe a little gossip is more popular than prayer. When they see the eagle soaring on wings of praise they get uncomfortable.

Then there’s the hapless turkey, (Meleagris gallopavo) just living for today and the next force fed meal so he can get big and fat….he’ll taste good though. He can’t fly poor bird.

However there are a few Christians who are like the eagle They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Psalm 91:

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” 3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler[a] And from the perilous pestilence. 4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. 5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, 6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. 8 Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, 10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. 12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. 13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. 14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. 15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”

Learning to walk in grace:

A song has been going through my mind as I was preparing for a study in Hebrews that we are doing at the church house. It goes like this, “I can’t even walk without You holding my hand; the mountains too high, and the valley’s too wide; Down on my knees, I learned to stand
And I can’t even walk without You holding my hand.” This is so true in my life. I am weak and vacillating, shaky at best and I need to hold God’s hand just to walk this Christian life.
As I was contemplating and considering these thoughts…wondering what direction to go with this, a friend called and gave me the direction I needed. She said something like this, “I noticed as we were driving along the highway some trees( or maybe it was just one tree) that the wind had broken over and I thought if that tree wasn’t standing alone; if it had been in the forest, it probably would not have ended up that way.” What Sheila was saying is we need one another and she quoted the verse from Hebrews 10:25, “not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
IT FIT SO WELL WITH THE SONG. Because before you can walk, you have to stand. It took my mind back to the blog Naida posted on Saturday, Oct. 28,2006 which she entitled “Believers stand in grace” and she quoted several scriptures to affirm her point. And I realized as I reread it that several of these scriptures have come to mind as I do the weekly Bible study at the church house. And I also realized I’m not so smart after all, I’ve just been stealing her thunder. I thought I was being original. It shows up what Sheila is saying, that we need one another and that is another aspect or benefit of the grace of God; He has given us a body to be part of and we learn from one another and grow that way. We grow in grace and we stand in grace as Naida said. You should read that blog if you haven’t already and if you have read it, read it again.
My blog today is about learning to walk in grace and for that accomplishment we need each other also. Verse 24 from Hebrews 10 says, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works” Let us consider one another. In learning to walk a child needs its parents; it needs help and in order to grow into a well developed and balanced life it needs all of the family. It needs both of its parents as well as grandparents from both sides and their family members for a full development. Otherwise something vital is missing in that child’s life. To deny that child one of it’s parents or it’s grandparents or other family members is a great injustice to the child as well as to the other family members. And this is a common scenario in today’s society and dare I suggest one of the ….no the most
singular event that leads to and has already lead to the breakup of our society. We need the forest to live in; we cannot make it alone. The problem is sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. Sometimes we can’t see the big picture because we are letting one or two trees block our vision. Do you catch my drift? Don’t let that happen. Support each other and learn to be gracious in doing so. We need each other to learn how to walk in the Savior’s grace. The Bible emphasizes the fact over and over again that we should love one another. Peter said, "love one another fervently with a pure heart." 1 Peter 1:22
Another quote from 1 Peter 3:8, "Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous" Common courtesy is a lost art in many places and in many lives but it had not be true in a Christian because a true Christian has Divine nature living inside. Let us learn to walk together.

HOPE. Believers have hope through the grace they have received. A few years ago, there was a commercial which used the phrase “keeps on giving.” I don’t even remember the product being advertised, but I have come to realize that the topic of grace in the Word just keeps on giving - all the gifts from God are wrapped up in grace.

Hope is another gift we have received through God’s grace to us.

Paul writes in 2 Th 2:16, 17: “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope. 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. (NIV)

The world searches for hope. A very common response to lots of questions that we might ask, is “I hope so.” Unfortunately, this is an empty phrase that we have come to use, because it is founded on nothing but wishes. The hope of the Christian is built on the firm knowledge that what God says He will do, He will do.

Paul writes again in Romans 5: 1 - 5, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love unto our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Because of His love, we have hope; hope for the present and hope for the future.

The hymn writer writes, “My hope is built on nothing less,
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand – All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand."

In times of sickness or discouragement, we can carry on because we have hope in Christ.

Then a final scripture, one we often meditate on is found in Isaiah 40:31, “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

These have been my thoughts over the past few days as I have been sharing with a friend who is struggling through a time of turmoil and have come to realize that there is nothing in this world we can hope in. There is no point in putting our hope in people or riches, lands, or titles we might acquire in this world because they are all fleeting - they are undependable - only our hope in God is secure. Hope because of His grace to include us in His amazing plan.

Submitted by Naida

The Wiles of the Devil

I awakened early this morning and a scripture came to mind from Eph. Ch.6. Now I was brought up on the King James Version and these scriptures that come to mind usually come in the KJV language so this verse found in Eph. 6:11 says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil,” and it goes on to tell us what that armor is. I immediately wondered ( not the first time in my life) what exactly are the “wiles” of the devil?
Beware of his “wiles” Of course we all know what “wiles” are …don’t we? I thought to myself “self why not look at some newer translations and get the modern twist on what a wile is?” So I went to the New King James…it says “wiles”
Not much help there Let’s try the internet ….it has everything on it. So I went into a website called BibleGateway.com and I found all the versions (and perversions; Perry?) The Niv calls “wiles”…schemes. Schemes…that makes sense. In fact a lot of the newer translations say “schemes”
I particularly like the Wycliffe New Testament version.
Ephesians 6:11 (Wycliffe New Testament)
Wycliffe New Testament (WYC)
2001 by Terrence P. Noble,

11 Clothe you with the armour of God, that ye be able to stand against the ambushings [the ambushings, or assailings,] of the devil
And that is just what he does. Now to ambush someone, you have to catch him off guard; when he is not looking. I also liked this rendering from “The Message which includes verse 10 also.
Ephesians 6:11 (The Message)
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

A Fight to the Finish
10-12And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

I don’t think I need to explain this and it answers so well my question and it drives the point home that this is not a skirmish, it’s a fight to the finish….every day, all day.
I really needed to be reminded this morning I have a battle raging against me and so do you and it is a spiritual battle against our souls; the battle field is the mind and that’s where Satan’s attacks are strongest. That is the front lines.
13-18Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
I’m going to press harder toward the mark. How about you?

" But for the grace of God"

A FLOOD TIDE OF GRACE

As I have alluded to in one of my blogs, I have lived almost my entire life on the shores of the magnificent Bay of Fundy and really wouldn’t want to live any other place; except maybe a slight shift south in the winter months.
Yesterday my love and I visited her aged aunt in the small coastal village where she grew up and where one hot July day quite some years ago my love and I were wed. All that aside, we also visited some dear friends who live in that community right on the banks of the bay that is part of the Bay of Fundy. It is a beautiful area and yesterday the tide was in when we were there. WHEN THE TIDE IS IN it transforms the whole area as well as my outlook. I always feel good when the tide is in. Unless of course I’M STRANDED on a ledge off shore somewhere. Then I wish I’d finished the swimming lessons.
Getting back to the tide, it truly does paint a different picture and covers everything that was exposed. It can transform the whole area and truly makes one’s outlook brighter if only for a few hours. As a matter of fact there are two billion tonnes of water entering and exiting the Bay of Fundy twice every day. That is more water than all the rivers of the earth combined. Impressive ain’t it?
While we visited with our friends yesterday two billion tones of water flowed past their front window. Now them’s braggin’ rights!
Years ago before we were environmentally conscious (and I’m glad we are) people would throw all kinds of trash into the bay and think nothing of it. Old engines from their fishing boats, transmissions, winches, things that didn’t float and these pieces of junk were not always below low tide; that means when the tide was out they were exposed. It meant for a real unsightly and ugly mess. But when the tide rolled back in it was beautiful again. Because the junk was covered over with more than two billion tonnes of sea water. (The bay does not go completely empty so you add the two billion tonnes to the even greater mount that stays,….get it?) Now it makes sense doesn’t it.
WHAT IS THIS GUY SAYING, WHAT IS HIS POINT YOU ASK? Well I say all this to illustrate a point and that is the bay reminds me of God’s infinite grace. As great an amount of water as the bay holds, it is not an infinite amount and just imagine if your sin and mine were that junk. AND ALSO IMAGINE the grace of God being the flood tide or the tide at it’s highest point. But that’s still a finite amount, meaning it can be measured. The junk abounded on the beaches and still does in some areas. The Bible says where sin abounds, grace does much more abound. His grace covers all my sin when I confess it to Him and His grace knows no limit, it is infinite, so why do we try to make it on our own? How can we wash away our sins? We cannot but His blood is like the bay only much greater and it will wash away every sin that I have ever committed and make me clean. What can wash away my sin….nothing, absolutely nothing but the blood of Jesus the spotless sinless Lamb of God. His grace is all I need. An old hymn puts it this way..."His love knows no limit, His grace has no measure, His power no boundary known unto men; but out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth and giveth and giveth again. Couldn't have said it better myself. RC
p.s. You know even if I didn't believe in God i'd have to change my thinking after living on these shores. I'd have to accept His creation and believe in Him.

Braggin’ rights…as a Christian do I have braggin’ rights?
Is bragging something a Christian should engage him/herself in? As a child I was always taught that bragging was something I should not be doing, not that it was necessarily immoral but obnoxious if nothing else. After all no one likes a “blowhard” and did not the Apostle ask the question, “where is boasting then? “That is found in Romans 3:27 and he answered his own question by saying, “It is excluded. What he was saying was that salvation (redeeming from sin and it’s consequences which is eternal death) as I said, salvation comes through faith in the grace of GOD; not by anything we can do and the Apostle Paul came to the realization that “a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” In the book of James ch.4 vs.16 he tells us that to rejoice in our boasting is evil in fact he is speaking of those who say “this is what we are going to do today or tomorrow we’ll go into such and such city and we’ll do business there and buy and sell and make a profit” But James says you don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring you; you don’t even know if you are going to be alive or not.
It reminds me of the story Jesus told about the rich man who had his barns full and was scratching his head about what to do concerning his future planning (at the same time patting himself on the back. Suddenly the light bulb lit over his head he had an idea). I know what I’ll do he said, I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger and then I’ll sit back and put my feet up , stick out my chest…after all my barns will be bigger than ever and they’ll hold more and I’ll say to my soul….o.k. soul you’ve got it made for many years
Go ahead enjoy yourself…eat…drink …be merry” As you can see I have taken some liberties with this story but you can understand this message, I know that. In both cases I quoted from …in James and also here in Luke’s gospel ch. 12 vs16-21 , the guy with the “ego” their bragging was in vain in fact James called it evil because in both cases the had not brought God into the picture. Jesus call ed the guy with the barn expansion a fool because although he had made all these plans for this life, he never made any provision for eternity…he left God out. Is there any thing wrong with a business expanding you ask? That’s not what I’M SAYING here. What I’m saying is it’s wrong when we leave God out. I know some wonderful Christian businessmen who put God first and foremost and their business is flourishing. And they are expanding and providing a livelihood for more people. No bragging rights here but giving glory to God.

The Apostle Paul wrote thusly in 1 Cor.1:31 and also in 2 Cor.10:17 “he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” God speaks in Jeremiah 9:24 “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgement, and righteousness in the earth”
Bragging rights can only be in God all else is evil the Bible says so. If we have something worthwhile in this life instead of bragging about it why not thank God for it? That makes all the difference…it’s our attitude not what we have acquired. Things can be good or bad, and I am referring to material comforts but let’s not glory in them and let’s not put them in a place they shouldn’t be. Brag on God and His goodness always. Nothing else is worth bragging on.
This too is an example of His grace.

God looks on the heart

Remember the story of David the shepherd boy and how God picked him out of a family of at least eight boys. Well when the prophet of God who happened to be a guy called Samuel went to Bethlehem to talk to a sheep farmer by the name of Jesse he went with an agenda partly God’s but partly his own. I think you can see what I’m talking about when you see what he said to God in verse 6 of 1 Samuel chapter 16…… “So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab(he was the oldest son and the tallest and the best looking a real he-man, a movie star if a talent scout had seen him today, now you see what I MEAN BY Samuel’s agenda because he said ) Whoa! Wow! Yes! This is it Lord! He da man! That’s what it would have sounded like today.
He said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!”
I’m sure the hair must have stood up on the back of his neck…and he probably had goose bumps all over. Wow! This is gotta be him! “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature because I have refused him!” God said …nope not him
And He said it to the next six sons that Jesse paraded out. Not him. None of these and by now old Jesse was getting frustrated ‘cause he too had an agenda. He brought them out in order of their status within the family. By now Samuel is getting the message…like we sometimes say in our ever so learned modern vernacular…..he clued in …he finally let’s God do the choosing because he asks Jesse , “are all the young men here?”So old Jesse said, well no, the young fella’s out tending the sheep …that’s my boy…he’s the youngest …probably God wouldn’t want him to be king over Israel. After all he’s just a kid. So Samuel tells Jesse Send for him ‘cause we’re not even going to sit down until he gets here. Can you imagine the tense atmosphere in that kitchen that day as Dad and these seven strapping lads had to wait for the “boy”? Soon as he walked through the door God said…that’s him…that’s my chosen one. Anoint him!
This is the one!
God looks on the heart and it doesn’t matter how fancy you are dressed whether you are wearing that new dress or that new suit or have the latest style to be seen in…God looks beyond all that and sees your heart. You may even have all your “i’s” dotted and your “t’s” crossed everything outward in order but GOD LOOKS AT YOUR HEART!
Is your heart right with God? It can be …by His grace